Apple CEO John Ternus and his Porsche passion

Apple has a new leader. Since 1 September, John Ternus has faced the difficult task of taking over from Tim Cook, whose tenure saw the technology giant's value rise by roughly 1200%.

A mechanical engineer by training, a hardware specialist and someone with an in-depth knowledge of the Cupertino, California-based company where he has worked for 25 years, John Ternus has another side absent from his official biographies: his enthusiasm for cars, and Porsche in particular.

Ternus does not merely collect cars or use them for everyday journeys. While other CEOs may prefer to put on their golf shoes, he would rather wear a racing suit and take his Porsche out for laps at Laguna Seca.

Nor is it just any Porsche. By all accounts, Apple's new boss keeps a 935 in his garage, a model regarded as a modern reinterpretation of the legendary Porsche 935/78, better known as the “Moby Dick”.

A very special Porsche 935

Built on the foundations of the contemporary 911 GT2 RS, the Porsche 935 is an unrestrained machine. It is not road-homologated, nor does it comply with the rules of any FIA category, giving the engineers behind the project a level of freedom unavailable with production cars.

The outcome is a car that is wider and longer than the 911 GT2 RS on which it is based, significantly lighter, and fitted with an extensive list of components taken directly from racing 911s.

Its 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine has not been restricted, unlike what is usually seen in competition models. It delivers its full 700 hp and 750 Nm of maximum torque to the rear wheels through a seven-speed PDK gearbox.

Those figures are striking, but another is equally worth noting: Porsche produced only 77 examples of the 935. Each carried a base price of around €700,000, before tax and any customisation. Recently, examples have appeared at auction for sums exceeding twice their original new-car price.

This is not, then, a machine someone buys for a Sunday drive. It is a weapon designed to let a select group of customers experience driving a racing car on track without entering official competition. Ternus is plainly one of them.

From Silicon Valley to Laguna Seca

Within Apple, he is widely described as pragmatic, able to solve problems and unafraid to make decisions. Those qualities are surely valuable during his regular visits to Laguna Seca, one of the United States' legendary circuits, which he takes extremely seriously.

A Wall Street Journal feature published in April this year, when he was named Tim Cook's successor, stated that Ternus can lap the Californian circuit in under 1min40s. It is not a benchmark time for a professional driver, but it is quick enough to show that Apple's new CEO does not go there simply to photograph himself descending the famous Corkscrew.

It is also curious that this is John Ternus's circuit of choice. Porsche unveiled the new 935 at this very track during the 2018 Rennsport Reunion. It would be hard to imagine a more fitting pairing.

A connection spanning decades

His openly acknowledged passion for Porsche becomes even more significant given the history shared by Apple and the German marque. Back in 1980, a Dick Barbour Racing Porsche 935 K3 entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans wearing a livery inspired by the colours of the Apple Computer logo at the time.

It was one of Cupertino's earliest links with the motorsport world, and it ultimately created a livery recognised by every racing fan.

Almost 50 years later, in 2026, Porsche revived that paint scheme on its 963s in the IMSA championship, the North American equivalent of the WEC, to mark Apple's 50th anniversary and 75 years of Porsche Motorsport.

And where was this livery displayed? At the IMSA race at Laguna Seca, of course. Does anyone believe in coincidences?

Passion for Formula 1

John Ternus's relationship with motorsport is not defined solely by Porsche colours. According to Eddy Cue, one of Apple's senior executives, Ternus is a Formula 1 fan who takes the championship very seriously.

During this year's F1 Miami Grand Prix, Cue told Reuters that Ternus was expected to attend the event but had remained at Laguna Seca: “John drives a Porsche and does amateur racing. He is a huge, huge Formula 1 fan,” he said.

And frankly, there are few better reasons to miss a Formula 1 Grand Prix than being on track racing yourself. Yet his enthusiasm for motorsport's premier category takes on a particularly interesting dimension when considering the relationship Apple has been building with Formula 1.

Through its streaming platform, Apple TV, the company secured exclusive Formula 1 broadcast rights in the United States for five years, under a deal worth around $700 million that began this season.

Then, in 2025, it produced the film “F1”, which grossed more than $634 million worldwide at the box office. Once again, the question is: Does anyone believe in coincidences?

It is difficult, if not impossible, to credit those decisions to Ternus and his passion for cars. Equally, it is unrealistic to imagine that Apple will revive its car-building project or continue moving closer to the racing world. Still, there is something interesting about the head of one of the world's most valuable companies being a petrolhead.

Tim Cook reached the role through his expertise in logistics, operations and supply chains. Ternus, by contrast, trained as a mechanical engineer and has spent his 25 years at Apple specialising in hardware development.

He is accustomed to studying machines, materials and components, and understanding how they can work together. Just as in a car. Whether it is a racing car or an iPhone, the developer's aim is almost always the same: understand how the product works, identify its limits and try to get the most from it.